It all started last week before I left for my trip. I noticed the radiator cap was leaking a little and was leaving some white residue on the air box. Last Wednesday I was driving home and noticed a very strong coolant smell. I pulled over and the radiator cap was off and sitting in the fender well. Coolant was all over the engine bay. I put the cap back on, drove a little further until I could get to a store and buy some water to get me home. After I filled the Jeep up with water, I started driving again and just before I turned into my driveway the cap let loose again and I just parked it. That night I went out and bought a new radiator cap and filled the radiator back up.
Today I was driving to work and about 20 minutes into my drive the temp gage starts going up. I pulled into Dunkin Donuts to get a coffee and as soon as I shut the engine off, the cap released a bunch of stream (but it stayed on). I limped it to work and shut it off at the first parking lot after the gate and walked to work. Later I went and bought some more water, filled it up and drove it home on the back roads, it was fine, never over heated, the temp gage stayed right at 210.
The only things I could think of was a bad thermostat or an air bubble. I pulled the thermostat and it looked ok. I replaced it anyway and took extra care to burp the system. When I was done I let it idle for 20 minutes, and even took it for a few mile drive with the AC on. The temp with the AC on was just a little below 210. Hopefully, the problem is fixed.